Shoe-cleaner.



M. E. HILL.

SHOE CLEANER.

APPUCATION FILED ocT.12,1915.

1,17 2,707. Patented Feb. 22,1916.

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r. du?? 5. Z7 .TeZvi/@EHZ ivinnviiv ii iiiLnor Los ANGELES, CALIFORNIA. y

SHOE-CLEANER..

specification of Letters Patent. y lPwmged Feb, 22, 1916,

Application led October 12, 1915. Serial No. 55,571.

To all ywhom it may Concern: Be it vknown that I, MnLviN E. HILL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful Improvements in Shoe-Cleaners., ofl -which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to shoe cleaners adapted to edectively clean mud,rdu'st, dirtl and the like from `the Vsole and sides of a slice in a convenient and efficient manner.-

It is an obJect of this invention to provide a shoe cleaner adapted for cleaning a shoe y while it is on the wearers foot, such a de vice being particularly designed to be placed at the house-door or at any otherconvenient location in order that each person may thoroughlyT clean his shoes before entering, and the device is so constructed that the operation of cleaning may be quickly and effectively accomplished with the expeiiditure of a minimum amount tof muscular effort.

Another object of this invention is to provide a shoe cleaner inclosed in a suitable housing and provided with brushes which are given a rotary motion by pressing the foot down upon the middle portion of the device.

Another object of this invention is to provide means for removing the dirt and dust accumulated within the device.

Vith these and other objects in viewy which will appear as the description pro! ceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and inthe details of construction hereinafter described ing which is suitably secured to a floor by means of angle plates 11. A hinged cover` 12 is adapted to close the top of said casing. A circular bottom plate 13 of a size but slightly smaller than the bottom 14: of the casing is provided yat the center thereof with a tubular cylindrical guide 15 extending verticaly therefrom. The top of said tubular guide is closed and provided with a rectangular passage 16 adapted to receive a screw orV worm shaft 17 made lby twisting a strip kof .inetah` VThe lowerl end of said shaft projects through said rectangular passage -liinto the tubular guide 15 and isrpro-l vided at itslower end with a stop 18 which prevents said shaft from leaving said guide..

The lupper end of lsaid shaft is rigidly secured to the top ofV a tubular sleeveA 19 closed 'at the upper end but open at the bottoin and of a size to slidably engage the tubular guide 15. Rigidly secured to saidy sleeve 19 is a series of radially extending brushes 20 whose outer ends are connected by a ring-shaped brush 21. |The brushes have the shape of awheel Vwith spokes whose hub' is rigidly secured'to the sleeve 19. The tufts or bristles of the brushes extend upwardly and have their upper/vends in a. horizontal plane passing above the buttonshaped bearing r2G which is formed integral with the top of the sleeve19. bottoni plate 13 is secured to the bottom 14 of the cylindrical casing by means of a bolt 23 extending from said bottom 14 through an aperture in the circular plate 18 which is fastened to ysaid bottom by means of a thumb nut24.. A helical spring 25, encircling the tubular niemberl and the lower portion of the sleeve 19, is disposed between the bottom plate 13 and .the brushes 20.

As clearly seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the upper edge of the cylindrical casingV 10 extends for a distance above'the top of the bristlesV 22 and inay be used asa scraper for cleaning the `sole of the shoe.

Operation: From the foregoing description, the operation ofthe improved shoe The cleaner will be easily understood. cover 12 having been removed, the sole of the shoe is placed on the top of the sleeve 19 and rests on the bearingr26. The foot is firmly pressed downward against the tension of the spring 25. The lsleeve 19 will rotate and slide on the tubular member 15 by rea-v son of the fact thatthe-twisted metal shaft 17l is forced to pass through the stationary rectangular slot 16 in the top of the tubular guide 15, thereby imparting a'rotary motion to said sleeve. The brushes, being radially secured to said sleeve, will rotate in unison therewith. As soonas pressure is released, spring 25 will niovevthe sleeve 19 upward and the twisted metal shaft 17, passing through the rectangular slot 16, Vwill now rlhe circular Ll l) impart rotary movement to the brushes in a direction contrary to the first rotation thereof. By moving the foot resting on the sleeve 19 up and down a fevv times, the shoe will be rapidly and effectively brushed and cleaned. The top of the bristles extending above the sole of the shoe will engage the sides of the uppers and clean them. When it is desired to remove the dust and dirt ac cumulated in the casing l0, the thumb nut 2tlis removed and the bottom plate 13, on which the dust and dirt is collected, together with the brush, may be taken out, cleaned, and reinserted in position.

It' is thus seen that I have designed an extremely simple shoe cleaning` device, inexpensive of manufacture, ivhich will rapidly and effectively clean the shoe With little muscular effort.`

lVhile I have shown the preferred construction as noiv known to me, l do not desire to vconfine myselfito the specific embodiment as described, as various changes in the arrangement of the parts Will suggest l themselves to those skilled in the art Without departing from the spirit of my invention as claimed I claim :l

l. A shoe cleaner comprising a cylindrical housing, a hinged top cover therefor, a circular bottom plate removably mounted Within said housing, a tubular guide extending vertically upward from the center of` said bottom plate, said `guide being closed at the top and provided with a rectangular passage therein, a sleeve slidably mounted on said guide, a vertical helical sha-ft rigidly secured to said sleeve and mounted for longitudinal and rotary movement in said passage, a plurality of horizontal brushes secured to said sleeve extending radially therefrom, and a helical spring encircling said guide and engaging said plate and said brushes.

2. A shoe cleaner comprising a housing, a hinged top cover therefor, a tubular guide extending upwardly' from the bottom of said housing, said Aguide being provided with a nut at the top thereof, a sleeve slidably mounted on said guide, a vertical helical shaft rigidly secured to said sleeveand mounted for longitudinal and rotary movement in said nut, a plurality of horizontal brushes secured to said sleeve and extending Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents',`

radially therefrom, and a helical spring encircling said guide and engagingnsaid brushes to yieldingly hold the same in their upper position.

3. A shoe cleanercomprising a housing,`

a. tubular guide mounted therein and. eX- tending vertically upward, a nut mounted at the top of said guide, a sleeve slidably.;

for holding said brushes in their upper position.

fl. A shoe cleaner comprising a frame, a vertical guide, a sleeve slitlably mounted on said guide, a helical vertical shaft rigidly secured to said sleeve, -a nut mounted at the top of said guide'and coperating With said shaft to impart "rotary movement to the latter, brush members rigidly mounted on said sleeve, and resilient means holding said members in their upper'position.

5. A shoe cleaner comprising la frame, a vertical guide, a brush-supporting member slidably mounted thereon, ahorizontal brush, a `vertical shaftlrigidly secured to said brush-supporting member, mountedon said guide and shaft for impart-` ing to said shaft a :rotary movement when the said shaft is vertically reciprocated, and resilient means engaging said `brush-supporting member for holding the same in its upper position.

6. A shoe cleaner comprising a guide,` a brush movablymounted thereon, for rotary Vmotion in a horizontal Splane, reciprocable means oper-ated by the pressure of the `shoe to be cleaned for imparting rotary Amovement to said brush, and resilient means `for moving said brush to normal position when the pressure on said means is released.

7 A shoe cleaner comprising a horizontal brush, means operated by the pressure of the shoe to be cleaned for rot-ating said brush in a horizontal plane, and resilient means operatively connected to said brush for means moving the same'tonormal position When the pressure on said brush is released.

In testimony whereof Ihave signed my name to this specification.

lVIELVIN` E. HILL.

Washington, D; C. 

